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Tuesday, December 6, 2016

K's have been experimenting with line for this unit of study. We first created lines with play colors and then painted the paper with liquid watercolors.

These paintings were amazing!!

Now to take the beautiful paper and create something with it. I decided for my kindergarten students, mittens would be perfect. Below is an activity sheet that I have available for you on TpT for free (click here).

I played this video for the students in little bits giving students to accomplish each step before moving on.

Each 'Hanging Mitten's' project was unique. I always surprised how much creativity K's have... I think it's mostly because they have little regard to suggestion. :)

Sunday, December 4, 2016

Last year I shared how to reflect on the Artist Trading Cards by using a worksheet (click here for previous post). I have added a worksheet to share with you for free on Teachers Pay Teachers (click here).

This year I have had the MOST successful reflection on the Artist Trading Cards!! This is the breakdown of what I call Trade Day.

First, I have placed a card into every students ATC sleeve. I can look at the cards that they have created and match up ability levels and interest. When they come into class, I try to really pump them up. I write down the number of cards we received in the trade... one number at a time. This creates a lot of anticipation and a BIG... united WOW! Then I explain that I have cards in their folders right now!! This minute!! Waiting for them!! Again... the crowd goes WILD!!! I explain that they will have the opportunity to look at the cards and keep it, or look at the card and exchange it. I see the kids going around with such excitement showing off the cards to one another.

Then I have them join me in a circle with their cards. Here is the conversation that takes place:

Me:
Do you know where your card came from? Raise your hand if you do... If you don't know where it came from, Why?

Student Answers:

Because the handwriting is sloppy.

Because the Artist didn't write the correct information on it.

Because it is in a different language.

Me:

OK... so we are going to know where some cards come from and some are a mystery to us. Let's keep that in mind as we do our next activity. We will be passing the cards to the person on your right (point to the person on your right) every time I say switch. You will have a few seconds to look at the image and the information on the back. There is no conversation at this time, you are simply letting your brain take it all in. Don't worry... you will get your card back.

We then do the activity of passing the art from around the circle as I show in the video below.

More discussion takes place.

Me:

Did you see some cards that were totally impressive? What made them so amazing? What techniques or mediums did you see? Why do you think they were so high quality? I'm going to give you a minute to talk to your neighbor and then we'll talk about it as a group.

Students responses:

I think they were good because they took their time.

I think they were high quality because they were older then us.

The mediums were interesting.

So on, and so on.

Me:

OK, did you see any cards that if you saw the Artist, you would make suggestions for them to improve on? Why do you think some of the cards could be a little better?

Students:

They might be a kindergartener.

The Artist might have different abilities.

They might have not cared about the project.

Maybe the teacher didn't give them enough time.

One little guy said, I don't think we should judge their work. I validated that, I said you're right, we don't know what the situation of the Artist was however conversation about art is for learning. These are just suggestions that we might make to an Artist to help them grow and get better.

This took most of the hour. I gave the assignment that they will be making an artwork that is inspired by the art received. They will be making their own ATC replicating the art they received... or being inspired by the subject or the elements of design used. I show them examples of students who did this last year.

See in this example, the student is using the technique as their inspiration.

In this one, the elements of color and somewhat of the subject.

This Artist was inspired by the texture created by the braille paper used on their received card. They created their own bumpy paper for their card.

This student chose to recreate their card with the colors and style.

The rest of the hour (maybe 10 minutes by this time) we spend preplanning how they will create their card inspired by the received art trade. They can also let me know if they need specific materials for next time.

The following art class we will be working on the cards and then writing a compare and contrast using a worksheet to guide then (click here). I will have them take a digital image of this to send to me and also place on their google drive/ Schoology account. This will be how I grade their work for this trimester... It will allow us to reach the national standards of reflection and connecting.

Saturday, December 3, 2016

Many of the participants of the swap will be receiving their Artist Trading Cards this week. In this post, I want to go over the specifics of the trade itself. I will be highlighting more about the cards traded, as what to do after the trade.

We had a total of 102 (two packages just came in) schools who sent me cards this year. In the packages we received, we had...

12,397 cards in total!!

Let's first talk about where the cards were from this year. Hassan received most of the cards from inside the United States... But truly from all over the US. The state that sent us the most was Texas. Some of you know we have an amazing #PLN (Professional Learning Network) in Texas that is extremely active on social media. I have connected with many of these amazing teachers because of the #GrundlerTeam (Matt and Larua Grundler)... They are so awesome to have a Twitter chat every Thursday night, that allows us to get to know each other and collaborate professionally. Twitter Chats are amazing and if you haven't tried to join one make it your New Year Resolution! Hope to see you Thurs. nights 8:30 CST for the #k12ArtChat.

Outside of the United States, we had cards from; Germany, Belgium, China, Canada, Scotland, Thailand, and Italy. In fact, we had 10 schools from Italy participate. This was do to another amazing connection I have to one person in Italy. Miriam Paternoster who is the author of Arte a Scuola, and amazing Art Education blog. She reached out for me to the educators she works with... and let me tell you, they had some STUNNING work to send us. Click here for her post on the cards her artist created. Stunning work!!

As far as schools who participated, the vast majority was Intermediate, kids age 9-12 years of age. When cards are exchanged, it's very hard for me to exchange only High School with High School and Primary with Primary. Participants might have cards from all levels return back to your school. It leads to some great conversation with your class after they trade. I have more to share on the reflection in an upcoming post.

This year I offered an opportunity to teachers to participate as well. Over half participated so this tells me that Art Teachers are interested in ATC's too. I will make a few changes in this area (as well as other areas) for next year. But know, I will do my best to accommodate this opportunity again.

So how did I go about this trade?? I have been receiving packages for months. I put them in my back room and didn't pull them out until 'Trade Day'. Durning Fall conference, I pulled all the packages and cards out onto my tables in my classroom. This is when I started to panic a bit... It was a lot of cards, a lot of participants. I took a deep breath and started working.

I wanted to celebrate the cards, so I took pictures of what I believe to be all the cards that were sent to me. I might have missed one or two trades when doing this because I had parents coming in and out for conferences too... so I might have missed some. If you want to see (most of) the trades that were sent, click here.

As far as preparation goes, I had Katelyn Fiss (our health clerk) donate some time. She was asked to write out the international postage information. This is a challenge for us because it's often in another language, but what a learning opportunity!

Those of you in the States know that the day after Thanksgiving is a shopping day we call Black Friday. Everyone leaves the house very early in the morning and starts shopping for the 'Doorbusters'. It's something this lady does NOT participate in. So my Aunt and I went in early and did some morning 'swap'n' instead of 'shop'n'.

We packed up the envelopes... well, we ran out of envelopes and recycled some boxes too. I had some helpers bring them to my car... and they were off to the post office.

Being a teacher is not the most flexible schedule. I camped out in the front of the post office door to be the first one on the day I mailed out our packages. I was so nervous. I had 100 packages to send out... That is a lot to ask of an employee first thing in the morning. I need to give a BIG digital hug to Dan from the Rogers Postal Services. He helped me with a smile and allowed me to bring in all 12 boxes. He made this dreaded trip so, so wonderful. THANKS DAN!

Hopefully, our participants will be getting their packages soon. I ask for forgiveness if the numbers are off. I really tried to get the right number back to you, but well... I hope the previous information will allow you to understand there may have been some human error. I will not be able to send any additional cards. Upcoming posts will focus on passing the cards out, and celebrations of some of the cards sent my way. Be sure to keep checking back for more updates on the 2nd Annual Artist Trading Card Swap.

Wednesday, November 30, 2016

WHAT AN HONOR!! I was invited to be a guest on Deep Space Sparkle, Art Made Easy, Podcast by Patty Palmer. Yep, that Patty Palmer, you know the Patty Palmer I confessed a #Crush on last February? WOW!! I have to say she is a treat to talk to. We had such a good chat and I'm so excited to share it with you today.

Tuesday, November 29, 2016

We’re doing something we’ve never done before to help you rally support for your classroom. Thanks to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, when a donor gives to your project or teacher page on November 29, both you and your supporter will be entered (maximum 10 entries) into our #GivingTuesday GIVEaway. One hundred teachers and donors will each receive a $5,000 DonorsChoose.org gift card to support requests on our site.

If you needed an extra special reason to reach out, this is it. Let those who care about you and your students know how they can support your classroom on this global day of giving.

Your DonorsChoose.org Team

Parents of Hassan,

We are often asked as teachers how can I support you? What is it that you want for the Holidays? This is people. I want to be able to make all my BIG ideas come true for your students in the Art Studio. This is a GREAT way to show your support.

On this day of giving, I want to offer an easy way to contribute—and a little glimpse into my classroom! To make sure my students have the materials they need to succeed, I’ve created a page on DonorsChoose.org:

Support my classroom today and we’ll both be entered in a special #GivingTuesday GIVEaway for a chance to receive a $5,000 DonorsChoose.org gift card. Just think of all the students we could help! I teach every student in the school. I promise any request I make on DonorsChoose.org is to better EVERY student education at Hassan Elementary.

If I were to receive $5,000 for our Art Studio I know exactly what I would spend it on. I would bring in an Artist in Residence. I have a wish list of people who I would like to invite into our school. These Artist are people who offer something I can't such as Fibers, Clay, or a Mosaic.

Whether or not we win the GIVEaway, your support would be a major win for my students. They’ve already accomplished so much this year, and I can’t wait to help them grow even more.